Data from: The paleogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world

The cat has long been important to human societies as a pest-control agent, object of symbolic value, and companion animal, but little is known about its domestication process and early anthropogenic dispersal. Here we show, using ancient DNA analysis of geographically and temporally widespread archaeological cat remains, that both the Near Eastern and Egyptian populations of Felis silvestris lybica contributed to the gene pool of the domestic cat at different historical times. While the cat’s world-wide conquest began during the Neolithic in the Near East, it gained momentum during the Classical period, when the Egyptian cat successfully spread throughout the Old World. The expansion patterns and ranges suggest dispersal along human maritime and terrestrial routes of trade and connectivity. The occurrence at high frequency of a coat color variant only after the Middle Ages suggests that directed breeding of cats occurred later than with most other domesticates.